Meet the Diamondbacks' Impressive minor league Coaching Staff
By Jake Oliver
The Reno Aces great Coaching Staff
The Reno Aces are loaded with talent this year, or at least they should be if the players we expect to go there after Spring Training end up going there. Some of the names are Buddy Kennedy, Bryce Jarvis, Alek Thomas, and more. The Aces have been Arizona's Triple-AAA team since 2012 or so. In that time, I can think of at least three players from the Aces that have won the Triple-AAA MVP (Christian Walker, Chris Owings, Kevin Cron). Hopefully, this season is another great one in The Biggest Little City in the World.
As for who is the manager of the Aces this year? That would be none other than Gil Velazquez, who 2021 as the Infield Coordinator with the Dbacks. He had been the team's infield coordinator since 2017 when Manager Torey Lovullo hired him. He's the 2nd youngest manager in Aces' history at only 42 years old. Additionally, he's an experienced shortstop after playing in parts of 5 seasons in the MLB with the Red Sox, Marlins, and Angels. He hit .233, .250, .247 with 4 RBIs and 1 double.
For the Aces' pitching coach, that's Doug Drabek. The former Cy Young award winner has been a pitching coach in the Diamondbacks' organization for 10 years. Last year, he led Amarillo. Additionally, he's the father of former MLB player Kyle Drabek who became known as a player for the Blue Jays.
With the DH here, who are the DH Candidates for the Diamondbacks?. light. Next
Nick Evans and Mark Reed are both hitting coaches for the Aces. Nick Evans grew up in Phoenix attending St. Mary's High School. He played in the MLB with the Mets and Diamondbacks. In addition to that, he even played for the Aces at one point in time. Last year, he was the hitting coach for the AZ Complex League. As for Mark Reed, this will be his 9th season in the Diamondbacks organization. He's a former Aces' player as well. Coinciding with his hitting duties will be his role as catcher's coach. After all, he was the bullpen catcher for the Diamondbacks for the past few years. Perhaps you've seen him in the bullpen once or twice. Last year, he served in the same role that he will be with the Aces in the Arizona Complex League.
That's all of the coaches, so far, for the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. Hopefully, they lead our prospects to many wins, but more importantly many skills. After all, while the wins are nice in the minors, we want them to develop our prospects to the best ability they can be. We need our prospects to reach their potential so that Arizona can become a good team for not just a couple of years, but long-lasting.
May the Force be with You Minor League coaches!